Just The Way You Are
by laurzz
Summary: DannyLindsayLucy. Replacement post-ep for 7x09. "You're pretty without this stuff, baby girl. You're beautiful." Lindsay said as she grabbed a make-up wipe and tucked a finger underneath her daughter's chin. "I don't think you need this." "I do!"


**A/N: Hey girlies! Now, I'm going to be perfectly honest with you guys -I haven't seen the episode yet. So... why am I posting the oneshot now without seeing the episode, you ask? Well, number one I'm getting bored of not having anything to use from the episode and coming up with something from thin air anyway... and number two, I'm working at 8 tomorrow morning (yes, eight. Be there. Start at eight. On a Saturday... FML!) So I'd be (more insane than I already am) to stay up till like 7 watching, writing etc. But I wanted to write something for you guys because I know myself how freaking horrible it is not to have _anything_ DL related from the episode. Watch; knowing my luck now we'll have some AMAZING scenes and I will have totally missed my opportunity in writing something actually related to the episode.**

**But, until I watch it and kick myself a hundred times, I plead with you to suspend your disbelief and just attach this one here at the end of the episode or wherever you see fit and pretend it's a post-ep. Deal? Awesome.**

**Huge thank you and hugs to you amazing people that reviewed the last post-ep. My spirits in general have been quite down recently, so your lovely and kind words always bring a huge smile to my face. You guys are just fantastic in the awesome feedback you all give me, and you all don't know how much I appreciate the lovely things you say. And even those of you who sometimes don't review, I really appreciate you guys too; so long as you're enjoying what I write, the things I set out to do are done! :) Special thank you to: **Webdlfan, Lindsay1234, Jennifer34285, Meredith and Derek,MesserFamilyFan100 , Broe929, Saderia, rhymenocerous** (I'm calling you Rhymes from now on! :) )** piper maru duchovny, brendanakai, rapidtetv, afrozenheart412, Juliab24, 18lzytwner, lulubell76 **and last but definitely not least: **messermonroeforever125! :)

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_Replacement post-ep oneshot for 7x09: Justified _

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'_Cause girl you're amazing, just the way you are. _

_-Bruno Mars._

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Casting an eye over the top of her laptop as she lay on the couch, Lindsay smiled as she watched her little girl battle with the Nintendo Wii. As of yet Lindsay had been the only one to crack to secret behind the tennis section of the particular game – to which drove Danny crazy. And Lucy, although she took after her mother in many ways, failed to do so in the electronic form of tennis, much to her dismay of course.

It had been Flack that had bought them the games console as a belated wedding/baby/joke present when Danny was stuck in his wheelchair. They'd never really found much use for it; other than a massive waste of money for Flack that they used every now and then to irk their friend. In-between the busy lifestyle and routine they led, demanding hours at work, nearly being murdered by a crazed psychopath on their first family vacation, moving in the aftermath, and somewhere in between all of that - raising Lucy; the Wii had simply collected dust for the past two years. However, being the technology whizz that she was, Lucy had recently taken a shining to the games console.

Lindsay closed her laptop lid momentarily and smiled at her little girl. "What'cha playing, sweetheart?"

"STUPID game!" Lucy cried as she flung her wrist, "It's a STUPID game, Mommy!"

"Stupid's a mean word Mr. Cooper." Lindsay reminded her daughter of the movie they watched a few weeks before. "Remember?"

Lucy lunged forwards and pressed the off button to the Nintendo Wii and flung herself backwards onto the carpeted floor of the apartment. "I done."

"Okay," Lindsay nodded. "I think that's a good idea because you're clearly getting worked up about it right now. Go find something else to do, baby."

"I don't have anything to do."

"I do not believe that for one second, Miss Messer. You have lots to do, Lucy."

"Nope," Lucy insisted. "Me don't."

"What about if you go take a nap?"

"No Mommy." Lucy said, rolling her eyes. "That's silly..."

"Mommy would happily have a nap right now... want to take a nap with Mommy?"

Lucy merely blinked at her mother. "Um, no."

Trying to suppress her laugh from the utter disgust in Lucy's voice, Lindsay nodded solemnly. "Well, silly me then. How about you-"

Not even able to finish her sentence, Lucy suddenly jumped up and scrambled from where she had been laying in a heap on the floor and darted down the hallway.

Shrugging and chuckling to herself, Lindsay re-opened her laptop and carried on checking her email, news and other things she very rarely got to do; until she realised that Lucy was particularly quiet; which meant trouble was on the horizon.

"Baby... What are you doing?"

"Nothin'!" the little voice called.

And that had been what Lindsay was dreading. Nothing always,_ always_ meant something.

"Lucy!" Lindsay called, placing her laptop on the coffee table. "Lucy Messer, come here."

_Silence. _

"Crap," Lindsay muttered as she jumped up off the couch and padded into the hallway. "Lu?" She called, trying to narrow down where her daughter could be. "Lucy?"

Hearing little fingers rifling through a drawer, Lindsay cringed as she figured out exactly where Lucy was.

Her's and Danny's bedroom.

Instantly, dread settled in the pit of her stomach. It wasn't that she or Danny had anything to hide from their daughter, and they were far from the type of parents that forbid their children to go into their room... but it was more of a fear of the unsupervised toddler that got Lindsay's heart racing.

Finally making it into the doorway of their bedroom, Lindsay's heart stopped racing as a small smile tugged at her lips. "Um, hi?"

"Hi." Lucy smiled briefly before turning her attention back to what she had been doing.

"Um, what might you be doing, Little Messer?"

"Um, I look like Mommy," Lucy grinned as she fluttered her eyelashes, "See,"

"I do see," Lindsay smirked as she observed the lipstick, eye-shadow and blusher that graced her daughter's delicate features. "You sure were on top of getting that make up onto yourself, weren't you kiddo?"

Lucy giggled. "I pretty!"

"You're pretty without this stuff, baby girl. You're beautiful." Lindsay said as she grabbed a make-up wipe and tucked a finger underneath her daughter's chin. "I don't think you need this."

"I do!" Lucy wailed as she twisted her head dramatically away from Lindsay. "No!"

"Yes Lucy," Lindsay said, turning her daughter's head back to face her. "This isn't good for little girls like you; I don't want it to hurt your skin, okay?"

Letting a heavy sigh, Lucy looked up to her mother with watery eyes. In an attempt to avoid the puppy-dog eyes her daughter had perfected, Lindsay concentrated on gently removing the make-up from the little girl's face.

"Tell you what," she said after a few moments of silence. "If you sit here and let me take this off your beautiful face, I'll let you give me a makeover."

Lucy snapped up excitedly, eyes shining with excitement. "Really?"

Lindsay nodded as she took a deep breath. "You've got to let me take this stuff off your face first, okay?"

"Otay!" Lucy cried as she folded her hands in her lap and straightened her back. "I can do thats."

"Fantastic," Lindsay smiled.

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Hours later, Lindsay hummed happily to herself as she added the finishing touches to her's and Danny's dinner. He'd called a little over an hour ago to let her know that he'd managed to slip away from the stress of the lab and he was on his way home. With Lucy in bed, Lindsay had set her sights and time on preparing dinner.

She would have ideally liked to have gotten changed and make herself look half presentable for him when he got home, but between cleaning the apartment quickly, coming up with _anything _other than pasta to cook, and actually cooking it; she'd ended up staying in her sweatpants and hooded sweatshirt she'd shoved on when she'd gotten home from work.

Her stomach growled as she inhaled the aroma from the stir fry she'd made and glanced down at her watch, trying to time how much longer Danny would be. As she did, she heard his key turning in the lock. A huge smile tugged at her lips as she shoved the pan off of the heat and switched the stove off. She turned on her heel and peered out of the kitchen into the hallway. "Hi baby!"

"Hi darlin'," he smiled in return as he dropped his coat, bag and shoes in a pile. "I missed you."

"Missed you too," she smiled.

"Smells good," he commented. "What you been cookin'?"

"Stir fry," she grinned.

"Don't tell me you're back into that fad again," he sighed. "I still feel like a stir fry."

"Well I feel like a piece of spaghetti," she teased. "I thought it was time for a change in what we eat."

"Make linguini then," he smirked as he pulled her into a hug. "Your make-up looks beautiful."

Lindsay arched an eyebrow. "A compliment?... what did you do?"

"Nothin'," Danny smiled as he leant down and pressed a kiss to her blush covered cheek. "This new type of make-up you have goin' on... Looks nice."

Lindsay fought the smile tugging at her lips. "Oh yeah?"

Danny nodded slowly as he settled next to her. "Sure... it's cute."

With a spring in her step linked her fingers around her husband, pulling him close and tight into a loving embrace. "You're so sweet."

"I do what I can," he chuckled as he peered over her shoulder. "Is it ready?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I'm just gonna go wash up real quick. Get changed and everythin'... that okay?"

"Yeah," she nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah, take your time."

"I won't be too long," he pressed a kiss to her cheek before turning on his heel and heading off to their bedroom.

Leaning against the counter, Lindsay let out a contented sigh. _'your make-up looks beautiful.' _He was so sweet to her – even after what seemed like a million years together, he was still thoughtful, complimentary, caring – among a very wide range of adjectives she could use to describe him.

She went to the fridge and grabbed a beer from the drawer for him, and uncapped the bottle, ready for him once he rejoined her in the kitchen.

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Within minutes, he was in his matching jogging bottoms and sweater to her's and his man-slippers that he would deny to the death that he owned.

"Here you go," she smiled. "Thought you could do with something like this after the day you've had."

"No kiddin' there," he sighed heavily. "Mac's like a man possessed sometimes."

She chuckled as she grabbed the pan from the stove and began spooning the stir fry between their two dishes. She looked up momentarily and gasped as she saw her reflection in the window. "Oh my god!" She cried in horror. "DANNY!"

"W-what?" He spluttered, nearly sending the beer he'd just swallowed back through his nose. "What's wrong?"

"You didn't... I... how could you?" she cried as she slammed the pan back on the stove and sprinted out of the kitchen, down the hall, slamming the bathroom door shut.

He blinked as he mentally rewound the situation he'd just found himself in and replayed what had just happened in his head. He'd come in. He'd gotten a hug and kiss from Lindsay, she'd dished up their dinner and then looked out the window. He sighed as he pushed himself off of the counter and padded down the hallway to the bathroom. He took a deep breath as he knocked gently on the door before opening it. "Linds..."

"Go away," she whimpered. "You were makin' fun of me."

"Linds..."

"Danny, I look _completely_ _ridiculous_," she sniffled as she wiped her eyes free of the bright blue eye-shadow that had been in the bottom of her make-up bag that Lucy had somehow found and insisted on using. "And you said I looked beautiful."

"Linds, you are beautiful."

She stopped and turned to look at her husband in utter disgust.

"Listen to me for a minute," he smiled as his hands went to her waist and hoisted her onto the bathroom counter. He then took the wipe from her hand and began to wipe the remaining make-up from her face. "I knew that it obviously wasn't you that had done your make-up babe,"

"So why did you say I looked beautiful then?" she questioned him, moving her head back so that she made it harder for him to clear her face. "That was just spiteful."

"Babe, I knew Lu had done it, and I thought it was sweet."

Raising her eyebrows at him, it was obvious she was still completely unconvinced.

"Babe, you're perfect the way you are."

"I look like a drag queen," Lindsay cried. "How can you possibly think _that's_ beautiful?"

"You don't get it," he shook his head.

"No, I do get it," she nodded. "We need to get you your glasses back, obviously."

"I think you're gorgeous Lindsay and you know I do. "

"Being gorgeous and looking like an absolute idiot is two very different things Danny,"

"No it isn't and you know that," he growled at her. "The fact that you've obviously sat there patiently, letting Lucy cover you in ridiculous make-up, to then leave it on blows my mind."

She snorted.

"Linds," He sighed. "You're an amazing Mommy for doin' that."

"She was bored," Lindsay reasoned, with a blush to her cheeks.

"So, you could have handed her a colouring book and sent her on her merry way, but no, you sat there and let her waste all your make-up and you spent quality time with her. Hell, you even left the make-up on."

"I didn't want to hurt her feelings," Lindsay laughed at the ridiculousness of herself. "I need to get a grip."

"No you don't," he smiled, "You're just a great Mom."

Lindsay blushed and turned slightly on the counter and peered into the mirror. "Well," she said after a few moments of observing her make-up, "It's safe to say that Lucy isn't going to be a beautician."

"She can be whatever she wants to be," Danny said as he took another make-up wipe and hooked his finger underneath Lindsay's chin. "So long as those things are consist of being a Doctor, Teacher or another equally respectable and well-paid job."

"Lots of choice there then," Lindsay smiled as she closed her eyes, letting Danny completely remove her make-up. He took his time as he slowly and gently swiped the make-up wipe over Lindsay's face, taking his time to caress her serene features as he did so. "See, look at that," Danny smiled eventually after deciding he'd sufficiently removed the make-up from her face. "Amazing, just the way you are."

She scoffed at him and shook her head. "Better yes without the Lucy's batched job of my make-up... but I don't know, I guess I just feel a little wary. There are a lot of blemishes that I didn't used to have."

Danny scoffed and shook his head.

"Oh, you disagree?" She teased.

"When I see you Linds, there's not a thing I would change."

"Surely there's something," she squeezed her stomach. "A few pounds less here, a bit taller there..."

He shook his head. "I love every inch of you."

"You love me just the way I am?" She questioned, "Really?"

"One hundred and fifty percent," Danny smiled. "I love you just the way you are."

She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close. "You're pretty amazing, you know that, right? Not many husbands would have stood here and helped me with that."

"Well," he shrugged. "I'm one of a kind."

She giggled as she pressed a kiss to his lips. "Dinner's gonna be gettin' cold."

"Gee Lindsay, anyone would think you're from New York with talk like that."

"Dinner's gettin' cold?" She asked, puzzled.

"I was goin' more for the accent, but sure... we New Yorkers like dinner I guess."

She swatted him and rolled her eyes before jumping down from the bathroom counter. "I'm sorry I freaked out on you before... I was just embarrassed."

"You ain't got nothin' to be embarrassed about," he chuckled.

She let out a contented sigh as he left the bathroom and headed off into the kitchen. She heard him a few seconds later, picking up where she had left off in relation to dishing out their stir fry. For Lindsay, it was obvious that the feeling was mutual – as much as he thought she was amazing, _he_ was amazing, just as he was.

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**Well here you go guys - I hope you liked it. Any feedback you all have would be greatly appreciated!**

**Thanks for reading! :) **


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